Ravindra Jadeja was left out of India’s squad for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, and former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara believes the omission may mark the end of the all-rounder’s ODI career. Pujara said on JioStar that the team management appears to have settled on Axar Patel as its left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
“I believe so, because if you want to keep Ravindra Jadeja in ODI cricket, then he should have been selected. I’m sure it was communicated to him that he might not be selected because Axar Patel has been the main all-rounder in ODI cricket and is being given more opportunities,” Pujara said, as quoted by news agency IANS.
Pujara added that Jadeja’s age may have shaped the call. “Looking at his age, I feel the team management might have told him that he is now only a part of Test cricket, so he should focus there, and that they are not looking at him for white-ball cricket. So, it could be the end of the road because, obviously, he has retired from T20 Internationals. I feel he might not be selected just for the ODIs,” he said.
Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20 Internationals after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup win, and he has moved in and out of the ODI side since then while staying a regular in Test cricket. He is 37, and the New Zealand series, which runs from 4 to 15 November, was seen as a key block of preparation with about a year left before the World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Ravindra Jadeja and the Axar Patel pecking order
The numbers behind the debate show how the balance has shifted. Ravindra Jadeja has played five ODIs in 2026. In the home series against New Zealand earlier in the year, he took no wickets and scored 4, 27 and 12. Against the West Indies at home, where Axar was unavailable because he was part of India’s Asian Games 2026 gold medal winning T20I side, Jadeja played two games, took two wickets and did not get to bat.
Axar, meanwhile, has been given the longer run in the format. He will play the New Zealand series as India’s first-choice left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, and it will be the first time he plays an ODI series on New Zealand soil.
Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar offered a different view on the same show. He said Ravindra Jadeja still has a role as cover, even if he is no longer in the first eleven. “Jaddu might not come back into the team, but if someone gets injured, the first name that will come to mind will be Jaddu. Because after Axar, there is no one,” Nayar said.
“The valid question right now would be: After Axar, who is the frontrunner? Currently, the frontrunner is Axar Patel, and after him, Jaddu is still your insurance policy. If something happens to Axar Patel before the World Cup, Ravindra Jadeja will come into the team,” Nayar added.
Ravindra Jadeja ODI record and recent form
Ravindra Jadeja has played 212 ODIs and scored 2,905 runs from 142 innings at an average of 32.27 and a strike rate of 85.54. He has 13 fifties but has yet to score a maiden ODI century. With the ball, he has 234 wickets at an average of 36.78, with two five-wicket hauls and seven four-wicket hauls.
His last ODI fifty came in 2020 against Australia in Canberra. In the innings since then, he has reached the 30s a few times and the 40s once, but he has not crossed fifty again. Axar’s record is smaller: 74 ODIs, 918 runs from 52 innings at an average of 23.53, four fifties, and 80 wickets at an average of 32.73, including one four-wicket haul.
What comes next for Ravindra Jadeja
For now, Ravindra Jadeja stays in India’s red-ball plans. He is in the Test squad for the two-match series against New Zealand, which begins in Wellington on 19 November, and he has played three Tests on New Zealand soil, scoring 107 runs and taking five wickets. Before the tour, he played two Ranji Trophy matches in the 2026-27 season, scoring a century against Chhattisgarh and taking three wickets, then taking two wickets in each innings against Assam.
Whether he returns to the ODI side will depend on injuries and form over the next year. Pujara’s view is that the door has closed, while Nayar’s view is that Jadeja remains the first name the selectors would call if Axar were hurt. The New Zealand ODI series, which India began on 4 November without him, will show how far Axar takes the role that Jadeja held for more than a decade.